Shackled
by Veni Vidi Vichi
Summary: A little introspection is always a good thing, except when you're a spy with a father who is leaning a bit on the psychotic side. In short, Jason thinks.


Hey Everybody! This is Libros again. I'm starting to think I'm addicted to writing Revolution fanfics, but hey, whatever gets me back to writing is fine with me! I'm really hoping you'll enjoy this one, it's much more introspective then I normally get. And before you point out the jumpiness, it's supposed to be like that, since it's supposed to be kind of a brief moment in Jason's mind. Also, don't be surprised by a lot of pronouns, there all there for a reason. And proper noun switches are important too, so if that kind of thing bothers you this is probably not the story for you. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I only wish I was lucky enough to own Revolution.

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Jason knew something was wrong from the first moment he met Charlie. Within minutes of talking with her, the part of him he'd hardened the most at his father's instruction was softening. There was just something so breakable about Charlie that made him want to be gentle with her and protect her from harm.

Maybe it was the fact that she was so hard on the exterior, but so quickly opened up to people. Like the gumballs his father used to bring home for him, back before the lights went out, when his father was Dad, not Captain Neville. Jason's thoughts those first few days were tangled in wondering how, when she clearly knew how horrible people could be, she still managed to have such a hopeful outlook on mankind. It was bordering on ridiculous, and Jason filed it away in his mind as something exploitable.

As he fell in with her little ragtag group on the search for her uncle, Jason found himself enjoying playing the role of Nate. Seemingly carefree and with no responsibilities, it was Nate who could sit and listen to Charlie's happy babble at night, who could play the knight for the helpless damsel. And it was Nate who had to be hurriedly stuffed away when Jason's duplicity was discovered. Unfortunately, Nate had not slunk away as quickly as he should have.

Then came the day he'd saved her life. It hadn't been intentional, quite. Rather he had seen the men running after her, realized her Uncle Miles was doing quite the number on the men Jason had arrived with, and high tailed it out of there. But when he saw Charlie, trapped and the man's weapon coming down, he couldn't help it. His bow had moved almost out of reflex. And then Charlie had looked up at him with grateful eyes that whispered of forgiveness. Jason had run, but all Nate had wanted to do was stay behind and hold her in his arms.

And so began the tracking, which gave him ample time to try and bury Nate back wherever this weak side of him had come. But he refused to stay buried. Anytime Charlie was in trouble, Jason would fade away just long enough for Nate to play the hero. Jason didn't even want to imagine what his father would think of this.

Charlie's defense of him once he was discovered tracking them once again didn't surprise him. She was too good to allow her uncle and him to fight to the death, but the forgiveness was gone from her eyes now, replaced with tired wariness. Jason took over then while Nate mourned the loss. It was Jason who fought to save her life that day.

Jason had never felt more like a prisoner than the day he'd escaped from them. As she crouched before him, pleading for him to help her save her brother, he'd cursed the chains that kept him shackled to his father. All the words Charlie spoke of protecting and staying loyal to family, they applied to him as well as to her. It made it clear to him that he couldn't help her the way she wanted him too, that maybe he could never be her knight, or even her comrade in arms.

When she'd stood, her face impassive and cold as she warned him that she couldn't help him, his heart had stopped. Not at the thought of the torture, he'd received training for that, most of it by the hands of his own father. No, the look on Charlie's face was too similar to the look on his Dad's face the night he died and Captain Neville was born.

He couldn't let that happen to Charlie. Not to sweet Charlie who was tough as nails but soft as a kiss. Not when it would be his fault. Jason and Nate made that escape together.

He was almost happy to see Charlie back to normal and in his arms, or he would have been, if his father hadn't had such a tight grip on Charlie's little brother. And then Captain Neville had demanded that Jason bring Charlie over to him. In that moment, he had felt every ounce of the chains he wore, the shackles tightening at his indecision. Who was he really? Jason, Captain Neville's obedient son, pride of the Monroe Militia? Or was he Nate, a boy who just wanted a simple life for himself, and couldn't bear to see others hurt? When he pushed Charlie off that train, he could have sworn he felt something snap within him.

As Nate watched his parents walk away together, he felt a sudden rush of relief. For the first time in years, he felt free. Free to decide, to actually have an opinion, to make his own decisions. Free to choose the losing side even, to open himself to weakness.

And wouldn't Charlie be surprised to see him?

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Hey, it's me. I couldn't escape this story without a little Nate/Charlie fluff. I'd love to hear your input on the story though! I'm a little nervous I made Nate/Jason a little too . . . split personality disorder, which was not the point. I just wanted to get to know him a little better. And if you guys have any requests for what I should write about for Revolution next, I'd love to pick a couple of them to do!


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